Collection search - First, Do No Harm

Record information – Brief

1

First, Do No Harm

Item number (ISN):

363390

Series title:

The Fifth Estate

Hierarchical level:

Item (Accession level)

Item number (ISN):

363390

Type of material:

Moving images

Found in:

Archives / Film, Video and Sound

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Record information – Details

Fonds/collection:

CANADIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, TELEVISION: VIA SATELLITE

Accession:

2005-0001

Media:

Video

Part:

1 of 1

Release date:

2005-02-16

Production company:

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

Description:

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Gillian Findlay investigates the case of Errol Wai-Ping, a Toronto gynecologist accused of mistreating, misdiagnosing and botching the surgeries of dozens of women who were his patients. Complaints from patients to medical authorities went unheeded for more than a decade. In March, 2004 the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario announced that it was revoking the license of Wai-Ping. This announcement signaled the end of one of Canada's most serious and longest running cases of medical error. It came on the heels of the Canadian Adverse Events Study, which revealed one in thirteen Canadians is harmed by the medical care that is supposed to help them. The program examines the story of Dr. Wai-Ping, the cases of some of his patients, and investigates the official process that allowed Dr. Wai-Ping to continue practicing almost a decade after complaints had first been made about his competence as a surgeon. One of those patients is Nicole Harder of Cobourg, Ontario. In 1995, when Nicole was 31, she complained to both the Ajax-Pickering hospital and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario about Dr. Wai-Ping, claiming that he performed an unnecessary hysterectomy and causing a potentially life-threatening infection. For seven years, Nicole Harder fought to convince the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons and the hospital where he worked to reveal what, if any, measures were being taken to investigate her complaint or discipline Dr. Wai-Ping. She learned that the College referred her complaint to a confidential committee called Quality Assurance. Although the proceedings of this committee are kept secret, Harder obtained documents that showed the QA committee determined there were "significant" breaches in Dr. Wai-Ping's standard of care. For that, he was ordered only to take a remedial communications course. Eventually Harder settled a malpractice suit against Dr. Wai-Ping. In the past, serious complaints about a doctor's clinical care usually went to a disciplinary board, which has the power to take a doctor's license away. In most provinces disciplinary hearings are open to the public. THE FIFTH ESTATE'S investigation reveals that across Canada there is a new trend to retrain doctors, not blame them. In Ontario it is called Quality Assurance, and everything that happens in Quality Assurance is secret. The College received at least 12 complaints about Dr. Wai-Ping between 1994 and 2001. In all of that time he had a spotless record so far as any patients could find out and there were no restrictions on his surgery. Dr. Wai-Ping continued to perform surgery until a Toronto Star investigation made the matter public in 2001. Weeks later, the College finally referred the case to the Disciplinary Committee and Dr. Wai-Ping was forced to resign. More than 300 of Dr. Wai-Ping's patients are now launching a class action lawsuit against the doctor, the College of Physicians and Surgeons and Rouge Valley Ajax-Pickering Hospital.

Language:

English

Notes:

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1. Description based on information on CBC website.

Detailed holdings information:

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Vault ISN:

979709

Format:

VIDEO

Location number:

V4 2005-02-0039

Number of items:

1

Kind of sound:

SOF

Made from:

VIA SATELLITE

Status:

MASTER
Ordering and viewing options

Conditions of access:

Open

Restrictions on consultation:

No Restrictions / Pas de restrictions

Reproduction access:

With written permissions / Avec les permissions écrites

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